"Where You Are"

"We Know the Way"

Locus of Control:WHERE is the deciding factor in success or failure?

People who base their success on their own work and believe they control their life have an internal locus of control. In contrast, people who attribute their success or failure to outside influences have an external locus of control.

External: Environment, the actions of other people, fate, or luck decide what happens.

"Is he lucky?"--General Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon, when told of the virtues of a new General--the man's heroism, bravery, skill in battle and so on--waved his hand impatiently. "That's all very well," he said, "but is he lucky?" Napoleon regarded luck or chance as the deciding factor. A lucky person would always win out over adverse circumstances, he believed, whereas an unlucky person, even a general who was expert in the techniques of war, was fated to meet with failure and disaster on the battlefield.

"The best luck of all is the luck you make for yourself."--General Douglas MacArthur

In the first months of the Korean War, with U.S. and allied forces surrounded and outnumbered by the North Korean Army in the far southern city of Pusan, General Douglas MacArthur planned a daring amphibious landing at Inchon to retake Seoul, the capital of South Korea, and cut off the North Korean Army from their home territory. It succeeded due to the knowledge and experience of veteran soldiers of World War II despite strong tides and hilly terrain.

Individuals who identify with an internal locus of control tend to take more responsibility for their actions, whether those actions or the end results are good or bad. They do not accept outside influence for the outcomes, no matter what they are. The results of the action are theirs and theirs alone to bear.On the other hand, a person who identifies with an external locus of control looks at everything around them as part of the success or failure rather than themselves. When some project or undertaking fails, they may respond as if they had nothing to do with it at all. There are drawbacks to both of these viewpoints, though. An internally-focused person will be hard on themselves and constantly analyze what they did wrong. Conversely, those that have an external focus may come off as someone who just does not accept responsibility. When the result is not a positive one, they will be the first to complain that something outside their personal control attributed to the shortfall.

Stability: HOW MUCH can the deciding factor be changed?

Static: Fixed or permanent, no change possible.

A “fixed mindset” assumes that our character, intelligence, and creative ability are static qualities which we can’t change in any meaningful way, and success is the affirmation of that inherent intelligence, an assessment of how those givens measure up against an equally fixed standard. Avoiding failure at all costs become a way of maintaining the sense of being smart or skilled. Believing that your qualities are carved in stone creates an urgency to prove yourself over and over. If you have only a certain amount of intelligence, a certain personality, and a certain moral character — well, then you’d better prove that you have a healthy dose of them. It simply wouldn’t do to look or feel deficient in these most basic characteristics. Every situation calls for a confirmation of their intelligence, personality, or character. Every situation is evaluated: Will I succeed or fail? Will I look smart or dumb? Will I be accepted or rejected? Will I feel like a winner or a loser?

Fluid: Can increase or decrease, change is possible.

A “growth mindset” thrives on challenge and sees failure not as evidence of unintelligence but as a springboard for growth and for stretching our existing abilities. Although people may differ in every which way — in their initial talents and aptitudes, interests, or temperaments — everyone can change and grow through application and experience. Do people with this mindset believe that anyone can be anything, that anyone with proper motivation or education can become Einstein or Beethoven? No, but they believe that a person’s true potential is unknown; that it’s impossible to foresee what can be accomplished with years of passion, toil, and training. In the fluid, changing worldview, failure is about not growing, not reaching for the things you value. It means you’re not fulfilling your potential. Every new situation allows you to keep pushing into the unfamiliar, uncharted territory, to make sure you’re always learning.

Students and families who have to make frequent moves in the military or for other family reasons are associated with an increase in creativity. The creative impulse is sparked by the need to reconcile contrasting views of the world. If we move, we compare our new home with our previous life, note the divergences and the similarities, see what we like better and what we miss. As we do, our minds become more flexible and capable of combining thoughts and ideas in new and fresh ways.

YOU Choose!

In your life you will be a rover,exploring new territories, experiencing new phenomena, and gathering new knowledge.What kind of rover will you choose to be?

"But I shall not stop to explain this in more detail, because I should deprive you of the pleasure of mastering it yourself, as well as the advantage of training your mind by working over it, which is in my opinion the principal benefit to be derived from this science."--René Descartes, La Géometrié, 1637.

Updated: 8 August 2017

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